


The Blues

by KadinM



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Character Development, Emotionally and physically, F/F, F/M, Gonna hurt Lance, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron)-centric, Leader Lance (Voltron), M/M, Multi, Not Klance heavy but there is eventual Klance, Some OCs that help Lance along the way, but i mean hey, the eventual character development is gonna be great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27914215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KadinM/pseuds/KadinM
Summary: Through a series of time skips, Lance learns he isn't very happy in his place within Voltron.During what was supposed to be a quick mission with the team, things quickly go wrong. There's screaming, fighting, and a few explosions, though to be honest everything happened so quickly that Lance couldn't properly remember all of the details.One of these explosions, however, managed to knock Lance, with his lion, a few galaxies away from his team. Knocking them straight into a bunch of space whales, where he spends the next five years.Along the way, he revisits his memories, the good and the bad, but mostly it seems, bad.Along the way, he meets new people who were also stuck on the whales. Some of them were good, some of them not so much.Along the way, he realizes he doesn't want to return to Voltron.And after his five years on the whales are up, he decides his place here in space wasn't going to be with Voltron.He decided he'd make his own place.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Ezor/Zethrid (Voltron), James Griffin/Ryan Kinkade, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78





	The Blues

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first real attempt at a long fic, so if yall have any critiques please feel free to speak up!

“Not now Lance.” I smiled to myself as Pidge shooed me away from her lab. 

What was that? The third time I heard that just today? The hundredth time just this week. “Alright then.” I said as I made my way out “If you do end up needing help with your little project, you uh...you know who to call.” I smiled the whole time until her lab doors closed behind me. 

Allura told me “Not now” this morning when I tried asking something about the lions and how her father had created them. She had been busy looking over some plans that Lotor had given her the other day. I understood, we were in the middle of a war. There was no time for any of my stupid questions. 

Hunk told me “Not now” earlier this afternoon when I tried asking if he needed help in the kitchens. We were meeting some new aliens from a planet whose whole lives revolved around food, he was understandably stressed. If he didn’t make the perfect recipe for them as a peace offering, things could get messy. I suppose I’m not the best cook so he doesn’t need my help very much. 

There wasn’t much for me to do at the moment. Sure we were in the middle of a literal galactic war, but there were always times in between the battles and peace treaties when there was just….nothing. Allura and Shiro always had battle strategies to think of. Coran was always doing one thing or another, though I don’t exactly know what it was he did half of the time. Hunk had his cooking and food skills to practice. Pidge had her technology. Even Keith had The Blade, and when he wasn’t with them he was always training.

But for me? I don’t have a thing. My only thing back home on Earth was...being a pilot. That was my skill. But here in space, it seems like everyone has that ability. Now it feels as if there is nothing that makes me special. Who am I if I’m not The Tailor? 

I let out a deep breath “I’m Lance,” I whisper out. “The Blue Paladin of Voltron. Defender of the universe.” Sometimes it’s a good idea to remind yourself, that way you don’t go crazy out here in space. “I’m important,” I mumble out the words. 

I shake my head from side to side. I know I have to be productive if I want to stay sane, but it’s a hard thing to do when you’re stuck in one place, surrounded by the empty expanse of space, and the only six people that you have as company, don’t want you around. 

“Stop that.” I shake my head ahead and tap my palm against my head harshly. “They’re just busy.” I breathe in and out deeply and slowly a few times, trying to collect my thoughts. “Be productive,” I tell myself, and as if my feet had a mind of their own, I started walking towards the training deck. The best thing I can do for the team while we’re in stasis is to keep my skills in the best shape, after all, that’s the whole reason I’m here in space. 

The doors to the training deck open automatically as I approach them and I walk. I could work on my sword skills now that my bayard is capable of turning into one. My sharpshooter skills are good and all, but not the most useful in close combat. 

“Whatever it is Lance, not now. I’m training and I don’t need you, of all people distracting me with your nonsense.” My feet stop abruptly as I look up to where the voice came from. It was Keith, looking annoyed as ever at me.

I stare at him for a second, confused, and he looks at me, waiting for me to say something. “Oh…” Is all I manage to say at first before my thoughts become clearer. “I uh-I didn’t realize you were back from your mission with The Blade. I just came here to train.” I look down at my feet, before immediately turning around and walking out of the training dec

“Wait Lance, I-” was all I heard before the doors closed and I was out of hearing range. 

My teeth were clamped down to the point of pain, my fist was balled up at my sides too tightly. I'm sure that my nails punctured through my skin. Then as quickly as the anger came, I could feel my laughter bubbling up inside me, and I couldn’t help but chuckle out loud. My fist turned to clutch my stomach and my teeth were too far apart to grind together. 

Four out of six, I wonder if I can get the other Coran and Shiro to say it as well before the day ends. My laugh died down quickly and I could feel a frown growing on my face. I looked up and found myself in the room that led to Kaltenecker. My frown turned slightly upwards, she’s incapable of saying those words. I take a few steps in and take a quick whiff of the grass and environment that now surround me. It smelled nothing like the farm back home, but it's still nice to imagine. 

“Hey, girl.” I say softly as I spot her a few feet ahead of me “How’ve you been?” I make my way to her as she moo’s at me in response. “That bad, eh?” I chuckle as I sit down next to her. “I guess we both have it pretty rough then, huh.” She moo’s at me again, and my small smile stretched upwards. “Yeah, you’re right. At least we have each other.” 

Kaltenecker huffed out, and with a thump sat down. She had grass in her mouth that she was still chewing. She turned her head to look at me and dropped some grass on my head...I’ll just be taking that as a form of endearment. Laughter bubbled inside of me again before I let it all out. I sat there laughing for a solid five minutes before I managed to calm down. I wiped away the tears that managed to escape, took a deep breath, and layed down on the grass with my hands behind my neck. Kaltenecker followed suit by laying down, and after a few minutes we both dozed off. 

I woke to the sound of beeping. I noticed it had turned to the late afternoon in Kalteneckers room while I was looking for my tablet we used to communicate with the team. 

“Lance!” Coran’s voice rang out as I accepted the video feed. “Where are you? We called a meeting five minutes ago!”

I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes as I comprehended what he just said. When it clicked in my head, I immediately got up and made my way towards the meeting area. “I’m so sorry Coran,” I said as I walked “I’m on my way now, I was just-”

Coran sighed from his side of the castle “Not now Lance, no time for excuses. Just get here quickly.” He hung up when he finished the sentence, not giving me time to explain myself. 

Not now, Lance. I scoffed. Five out of six in a single day, a new record, I think.

I got to the others in a matter of a few seconds. “Sorry I was late!” I shouted out as I made my way to stand next to them. 

Shiro smiled towards me, “It's okay Lance, it happens.” He nodded at me before turning his attention towards Allura. I felt my face stretch into a smile. No matter what, it seemed that Shiro always had the patience for me. He looks exhausted from a long day, and he still somehow has patience. “Okay then!” He shouted out, clapping his hands together, and motioned towards Allura.

Allura stepped up, still looking down at some papers in her hands. “Okay everybody, we'll meet with the Alketorians tomorrow. We must remember how vital this treaty is. These people are scared of what Zarkon will do if they align themselves with Voltron. Shiro and I will be spending the day with the King discussing options. Shiro, please inform them of their duties for the day.”

Shiro nodded his head and looked at us. “Hunk, you’ll be in the kitchens for most of the day. The Alketorians are very picky eaters, and all their traditions revolve around food. I trust you came up with a dish you think will please them?” He looked hopeful and the yellow chef.

Hunk smiled nervously. “I think so!” He nodded his head “It’s definitely like nothing I’ve made before, but after looking into some of their common ingredients they have on their planet, I’m sure I’ve made something that will be up to their standards.” His nervous smile slowly turned into one with more confidence as he continued speaking. 

I smiled at him too, I knew he’d eventually get it. I can’t wait to find out what it tastes like at the feast tomorrow. 

“Perfect!” Shiro grinned “I knew we could count on you.” He turned his attention to our gremlin next, “Pidge. You’ll be meeting with their leading technology department. You’ll make nice, and show them that Volton is skilled and capable of protecting them. If they don’t like what they hear, they’ll report back to their leader and the treaty might not get signed at the feast.” He looked worriedly at Pidge, someone ghost I did not currently envy. “You think you can handle that?”

Everybody looked to Pidge, who looked at Shiro excitedly “Of course I can! Spend a whole day with fellow nerds, and blow their socks off with my talents? This is gonna be a walk in the park, no worries boss man.” She gave a reassuring thumbs-up, and it seemed to work as Shiro’s shoulders lightened up a bit. 

Shiro chuckled “Good. The day you can’t amaze the people of the universe with your skills, will be a day the universe will mourn.” Everybody laughed because we all knew it was the truth. Pidge was hands down the smartest being I had met in quite literally the universe. 

“I’ll die before that day comes,” Pidge stated.

“Keith,” Shiro continued giving out our assignments, while still chuckling slightly at Pidge’s last statement. “You’ll be meeting with their military leaders, discussing strategies and battles we’ve won. Show them just how strong Voltron is.” He nodded his head expectantly at Keith “Think you can do that?”

Keith rolled his eyes, a typical Keith move. “Spend a whole day brownnosing a much alpha type guys, and somehow both show them how strong and smart we are without somehow making them feel less than and inferior….yeah sure it’ll be a walk in the park.” He snorted and gave a half-assed smile.

Shiro hesitated “I…” He sighed and rolled his eyes back at Keith with a half-smile “Just play nice Keith, you can do that, right?” He joked. Keith shrugged his shoulders, and that seemed to be a good enough response because Shiro then turned his attention to me. 

I smiled warily at him, the face he was making at me didn’t seem very promising. I mentally shook my head at myself. It can’t possibly be any worse than my past assignments. I rubbed my hands in anticipation, Shiro looked as if he was trying to get the right words out, and it seemed like he was struggling. I chuckled nervously “As long as it’s not a suicide mission, then it can’t be too bad Shiro. Just spit it out already.”

Shiro sighed out and nodded his head at me. “You Lance will have...the honor of escorting a royal and discussing how Voltron came to be, and how it’s been possible we’ve made it so far.” 

My head went back in confusion...that didn’t seem like too bad of a job at all? Why had he hesitated so much? It really did seem like it would be an honor to discuss the victories of Voltron to an important member of the royal household, though the fake smile on Shiro’s face seemed to say otherwise. 

“What’s the catch?” I asked.

He shook his head adamantly “No catch, that’s the job.”

“Then why do you look like you’re holding something back?”

“I-I’m...not?”

“Shiro please, just out with it.”

Shiro sighed, whatever it was he knew I wouldn’t be happy with it. “The Royal in question will be the King’s son…”

I continued to stare at him in confusion “I still don’t why you look like it’s something ba-” I cut myself off when something clicked. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath “How _old_ is the King’s son, Shiro.”

Shiro winced, which told me I was right. “Five.”

I didn’t get a chance to respond before I heard Pidge laughing. I turn to her as she starts to speak “Your important mission for the day is to babysit a snot-nosed kid for the day??” His laughter continued. Keith was quietly chuckling to himself, and Hunk was smiling awkwardly. 

“It’s not as bad as it sounds Lance, plus it has to be done. It was specially requested by the king himself.” Shiro tried to explain.

And since I have no real skills, I was stuck with the worst job, like always. “I don’t-” _have a problem with it,_ I was going to say before Shiro cut me off.

“Please not now, Lance.” I flinched at his words, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Everybody else is doing their jobs without a fight, so please don’t fight it.” He squeezed my shoulder slightly, in what I assume was supposed to be reassuring. 

_Please not now, Lance._ I bit my tongue. I wasn’t even going to complain. I know being part of Voltron means doing things I might not like, but still, he assumed. Maybe he assumed because all I do is complain? Is that it? Is that why all they ever tell me now is “Not now, Lance.” 

I’d do anything not to hear that stinking phrase again, anything. I guess that would just mean getting out of people’s way and doing as I’m told. Isn’t that what I’ve been doing though? I suppose I haven’t been doing a good job at it then, I’ll just have to do better. 

“Lance?” Keith's voice rang out next to me.

I ignored him. “Sir, yes sir,” I said to Shiro while shaking his hand off from my shoulder. I gave a half-smile and nodded my head, Shiro seemed satisfied with my answer, and clapped his hands together. 

“Perfect!” He shouted out, “Well then that’s everybody’s assignments. I recommend everybody get plenty of sleep tonight because tomorrow is gonna be a long day with no breaks.” and just like that we were dismissed

Allura and Shiro went to go look over their speech for tomorrow’s speech. Hunk said he needed to finish up some last things in his recipe before he headed to sleep. Pidge left saying something about needing to complete some new upgrade for Rover. Before I could walk out, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Lance?” 

I turned to see Keith. “What’s up buddy?” I made myself smile, despite how tired I was from today’s events.

“Well, uh-um I just wanted to apologize for earlier…” He looked to his side awkwardly as I stared in confusion.

“About what? Oh-” I smiled at the gesture. “About laughing at my babysitting duties? It’s no problem man.” I waved him off “If the roles were reversed I would have laughed too, it’s uh...it is kinda funny I suppose.” I shrug my shoulders at him. I essentially just forgave him without letting him properly apologize, why did I always do that?

“O-oh.” He shook his head “I guess yeah I need to apologize for that too.” Too? What else- “I wanted to say sorry for pretty much kicking you out of the training area. You uh-you didn’t even know I had come back from my mission and I just assumed you were there to annoy me or something.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, something I noticed he did often. 

That was a horrible apology. I looked at the ground and shook my head. I am admittedly still upset about that, How was I supposed to know when he was here or not. He’s gone half of the time, and he just expects me to know when he’s back? Plus he immediately assumed I was going to annoy him? Is that something I do often enough, to the appointment he can just assume something like that?

“Lance?”

I look back up at him with a smile “I appreciate the apology man, it’s all cool though, no hard feelings.” I lied as I made my smile larger.

Keith breathed out as if he were relieved. “Well…uh. Since I didn’t give you the chance to train earlier, do you uh...wanna train together. I noticed you came in with your sword, so we can go one-on-one if you want?” He smiled almost hesitantly as if he wasn't used to inviting people to train with him, which I suppose if I thought about it, he wasn’t

I was still upset with him though and didn’t want to take the chance that I’ll randomly lash out at him. I needed to cool down. “Actually I did end up training, just somewhere else.” I lied. “That's why I was late to the meeting actually, I kind of lost track of time.” Why was it so easy to lie to him? “I’m actually pretty beat though, so I think I’ll be heading to bed early. Thanks for the offer though.” 

I waved to him goodbye without letting him give me a proper response. The doors opened for me as I walked towards them, “O-okay then” I heard his voice call out as the doors closed behind me.

I walked towards Kalteneckers room, which was in the opposite direction of my room. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice. 

When I walked in, Kaltenecker was still laying down in the same position she was in when I had left. I went straight to go lay down next to her and let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. I didn’t like lying to Keith, but it was still better than the alternative. 

“Hey girl, you wouldn’t mind if I started training here, would ya?” I looked up at Kaltenecker “I need a place to train when Keith is back from The Blade, that way I won’t get in his way” I explained to the cow, and she gave a small moo in response. I smiled genuinely at her, “Thanks girl, you’re the best.” I leaned my head into her side and quickly fell asleep. 

I woke up to my alarm on my tablet blaring. I hadn’t planned to spend the whole night here, and I already regretted doing so since I had a kink in my neck now. It was five am, or what we call five am since it’s hard to calculate the time of days when you’re constantly traveling the universe. 

The others probably won’t be waking up until seven, but I have trouble waking up in the mornings, so I like to wake up earlier so I have time for my body to realize it’s time to get things done. I left Kaltenecker’s room and headed to mine so I can get a change of clothes and head to the showers. 

“Lance?” The unmistakable voice of Keith called out as I headed down the hallway to my room. “What are you doing up so early? Are you already dressed?” His groggy voice clearly showed he had just woken up, probably heading to the kitchens to get some space coffee. 

I looked down at myself when I realized I was still wearing my day clothes from yesterday. “Too tired….” I made my voice sound groggy as if I had just woken from bed “Talk later…”

Keith nodded his head in agreement, rubbing his eyes and yawning “Mmm yeah, okay. Sounds good.” 

I entered my room and cursed at myself for lying again. I fell asleep in my clothes, in Kaltenecker’s room. That's not so hard to say. But the...he’d ask why I slept there. Then I’d have to admit I go to her when I need comfort. I puffed out as I threw myself on my bed. Why was I like this? Who goes to a cow when they’re upset?

I shook my head, I will not allow myself to get all mopey and lost in my thoughts. I got off my bed and walked toward my closet. I got a quick change of clothes and a towel, and made my way to the showers. Gotta make a good impression on the kid, right? I don’t need the kiddo to go off crying to his dad that Voltron was bad, and then having this treaty not be signed because I couldn’t keep a kid happy for a few hours, right? 

I smiled to myself as I walked to the showers. I think I’ll do just fine with the kid, after all, I had tons of experience con mis sobrinos. My smile dropped as my heart felt like it was being squeezed. I missed them, all of them. I wonder what my family thinks happened, what the Garrison told them happened? 

I made my way into the showers and let my thoughts take me as my body went into autopilot. My family meant everything to me. I miss them with everything I have, and every day I wish I could go back home, but I know I can’t. The universe needs Voltron, and I’m part of it. I can’t let Zarkon and the Galran’s win, because if they do, they’ll eventually find Earth, and I’d rather die fighting than ever let that happen. 

Die fighting….I guess that probably is going to be the way I go out, huh? My family will never know...and the others? The team, how would they feel? Is it bad of me to wish they’d feel bad? There was… there was that time when I saved Allura’s life. I died that day, I know it. The only thing that brought me back was Allura’s weird Altean magic, but if it wasn’t for that…..I’d be dead. 

What would happen to Voltron then? I guess….Keith would just be the Red Paladin again. Nothing would change really. The team would continue. Maybe that means I could go back home? Just take an escape pod and see my family again? The team doesn’t need me, that much is obvious. I could just go home, and the team wouldn’t be affected. 

I sighed to myself and turned off the water from the shower. I could never run away. I’m not Keith, I don’t run. I must be here for a reason. I dried myself off and quickly put on my clothes. It didn't really matter what I choose to wear today as long as it was lightweight since we just end up putting on our armor over it during these treaty things. It makes it easy for the people of the planet to recognize us as paladins of Voltron. 

I threw my clothes back into my room and made my way to the kitchens. It was already six, and my mind for the most part was thankfully awake. 

“Morning,” Keith mumbled as I walked into the kitchens. “Still surprised you’re up so early.” He joked as he took a sip from his mug.

I shrugged my shoulders in response and I poured myself a mug of already made coffee, presumably made by Keith since he was the only other person awake. I stared at him, unsure why something about him seemed off before it hit me. 

“You’re wearing your Blade uniform, not your Voltron one,” I stated, not asked.

Keith looked down at himself and simply nodded “After today with the Alkerions, I’m doing a mission with the Blade immediately after.” He shrugged “It’s easier just to wear this one, rather than rush changing uniforms at the last minute and hold up the rest of my team.”

I frowned as a stinging feeling hit my heart “Oh,” was all I said.

“Yup.”

I stared down into my coffee as we both fell into silence. My team, he said. It was an odd thing to hear him say when it wasn’t in reference to Voltron. I guess since he spends so much more time with the Blade, they’re more of a team than we are to him. He had just come back from a mission with them yesterday though. What was the point of coming back if he was only going to be with us for less than a day? 

I guess I can’t blame him though. The Blade is clearly important to him, plus he gets to spend his missions with his mother. He’s getting to catch up on lost time with her and I can’t blame him for wanting to do that, no matter how much I hate never getting to see him now. 

“I should only be gone for a few days or so. It’s just a reconnaissance mission. Voltron can still reach me if needed.” He states, and I nodded my head at him, unsure of exactly how to respond. 

I quickly finished up the rest of my coffee “Well then, see you when we land at Alekerion.” I gave him a half-smile and a wave goodbye as I made my way out of the kitchen. I heard him start to say something but the doors already closed behind me so I didn’t get the chance to hear him. 

As if on instinct, I made my way to Kaltenecker. She’ll understand, right? She didn’t have a choice in coming to space, just like us. She’ll never just leave though, right? Never abandon the team, because she knows...that we’re all in this scary space war together. 

Two Months Later:

  
“End simulation number 23.” I panted, pulling my sword from the simulated robot's stomach and swinging it into the new sheath on my back, and deactivated my shield.

I heard clapping coming from behind me, and almost instantly my shield was back up and sword back on my arm. I relaxed my stance when I saw where the clapping was originating from. My breath caught in my throat. It was _him_ , it was _really_ him.

“Wow Lance, you’ve really improved.” Keith smiled down at me from where he was and walked down towards me. “You know, pretty soon, you might even be able to hold your own against me.” He joked and patted his hand on my shoulder. 

I sheathed my sword and deactivated my shield again. It took everything I had in me not to jump the man in front of me and grab him into the biggest bear hug I could. “Did you want to train? I was already done training for the day, so you can have the room to yourself.” I lied. I usually would spend at least another four hours in here, but I didn’t want to get in Keith’s way if he wanted to train, after all, he’s in constant active duty and needs to train more than I do. 

Keith chuckled “I’m gone for two months, and that’s all you have to say? No ‘hi, Keith’. No reprimanding me for being gone longer than a week like I said I would be?” 

I moved from our position to go get some water, making Keith’s arm fall from my shoulder. I shrugged nonchalantly. Of course, I wanted to yell at this stupid boy, all I wanted to do was yell his stupid ear off. “I’m sure you have your reasons. It’s a war, after all, things happen.” I grabbed my bottled water and took a few sips “You seem fine. No missing limbs, no noticeable new scars. You’re joking around and smiling, and in the training room, so I’m assuming you’re okay.” No _visible_ wounds. Not to mention the fact that it's been two months, who knows if anything seriously wrong would have healed by now.

Keith awkwardly let out a laugh “What an uh...astute observation. If that was your way of asking if I’m okay, then yeah I am.” I nodded my head and felt my shoulders relax at that. He’s okay, you can stop worrying now. 

“So your reconnaissance mission was a success?”

Keith nodded his head “Yup.”

“Why the two months then?” I held myself back from screaming at the boy in front of me. How did one week turn into two months? Did he even know how worried sick we were? Why had he not reached out to us? Why had he not answered my calls?

Keith cleared his throat before answering “The reconnaissance mission went off without a hitch, so much so that we finished it in just three days.” His hand went up to the back of his neck where he rubbed it as if there would be a genie popping out if he rubbed it hard enough.

“Okay….” My brows stitched upwards. _Then what the hell happened_ , I wanted to scream.

“Then we went back to the Blade’s base, and they asked if I wanted to do another mission. Then I completed it, and they asked if I wanted to join another, and another, and another. Next thing I knew...two months had passed.” 

_That’s why_. I could feel my blood boiling. We all thought something horrible had happened. We all thought he had died, or he was so badly injured he couldn't reach out, or Zarkon’s army had captured him. But he just, what, forgot about us? Forgot that we were a team and just left us in the dark this whole time, scared to death that I’d never see him again? 

I nodded at him as if I understood, that’s all I could think of to do. It was that or yell at him, and I didn’t want to annoy him with my yelling because then he’d leave again. I didn’t want him to leave. Not when he was so close. “Do the others know you’re back yet? They’ve been worried.”

Keith smiled after my long pause of taking in the information. “Yeah, they know. I came onboard about thirty minutes ago. The only person who wasn’t there to welcome me was you, actually.”

I scoffed “Sorry, I was a bit busy. If I had known you were coming, I would have been there with a red carpet rolled out for you.” 

Keith laughed, loudly. I think I even heard him snort somewhere in between all his chuckles. I could so visibly see this weight being lifted off of him. It’s been a while since I’ve seen or heard him laugh like this. I couldn’t even bring myself to laugh, because I didn’t want to miss that happy wide smile on his face. He was clutching his stomach as if it hurt. I can’t tell what about my comment was so funny, but to Keith, it seems as if I just said the funniest thing he has ever heard from across the galaxies. I saw a tear trickle from one of his eyes, and he quickly wiped it away. He slowed down his breathing to try to stop laughing, but the more he tried, the more he seemed to laugh.

I couldn't help but smile back at him, it’s been so long since I let myself smile like this, but I couldn’t help it, his happiness was simply that contagious. Without him even realizing it, I slipped out my communications tablet and took a quick picture of him laughing, before putting it back away. Next time I feel like I need to smile, I’ll definitely be using that picture.

After a few more seconds, Keith managed to slow down his breathing enough to stop laughing. “Hoo...I needed that.” He smiled brightly at me, teeth and dimple in full view. 

I couldn’t help but to keep smiling at him as I spoke “I know I’m practically a comedian, but I didn’t think I was that funny.”

Keith snorted. “You’re not.” He stated and quirked one of his brows “I just...I missed this, ya know? I love the Blade, but my home is here with...you guys. _Voltron_ is my home.”

I didn’t think it was possible, but my smile grew even wider as a feeling of warmth overtook my body. “Yeah, I get it.” I chuckled lightly at this sudden wave of happiness that overtook me. We were his home, we were his family. He wouldn’t just run away from his home, would he?

We stared at each other for another minute or so, just unable to stop smiling at each other, but our smile-fest had sadly been interrupted by Coran’s voice of the speaker head “Paladins, please report to the meeting room, Paladins please report in.” We both looked upwards as he spoke and then back down to each other with slight frowns. 

“Do you guys have a mission planned out? They didn’t mention anything when I came in.” Keith asked in confusion. They had all just been grouped up together, fifteen minutes ago (minus me) why hadn’t they just called a meeting then?

I shrugged my shoulders “No mission that I know of. We’re headed to Keplotisko right now to speak about an alliance, but we’re still about a day and a half away.” Keith made a face at the word alliance, I guess he didn’t like alliance missions either, despite the fact that they were the most crucial during wars. “They probably just wanted to throw you a welcome home party, and needed a few minutes to set up.” I joked

Keith smiled at that, a small one, but still noticeable enough “Yeah, right.” He shook his head but kept a smile on his face the whole time we walked towards the others.

“Ah, so you went to see Lance,” Shiro said as Keith and I walked in. The others were already there, and Keith and I were the last to arrive. Keith glanced at me with a smile then turned back to Shiro, nodding his head as an answer. “Mmmm where did you find him? I thought you checked his room, and he wasn’t there?”

I looked between Shiro and Keith who were talking as if I wasn’t even there. I hadn’t realized Keith went out of his way to look for me? I just figured he showed up in the training room because well….he’s Keith, he always ends up there.

  
“He was in the training room, practicing his sword skills.” Keith answered Shiro “I saw the last few minutes of the simulation, and he’s actually really good, definitely approved since I last saw him.” He nodded at Shiro, took a quick glance at me while smiling, then turned back to our leader “Though I think the size of his sword is definitely compensating for something.” He murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Keith!” Shiro shouted out in surprise, quickly looking towards me to see if I heard, his face redder than I had ever seen.

“Pfft-hahaha” I belted out my laughter, it felt like every worry I have had these past few months just disappeared in these few moments and I was finally allowed to just breathe and be me again. 

My sides began to hurt from the laughter and a few tears spilled out from how tightly my eyes were being shut and opened. My cheeks began to hurt next, when was the last time I let myself laugh like this? Or just really laugh in general. Of course, it would be Keith and his stupid comments to get it out of me. There was always something about his invulnerability that made me react in one way or another. After a while, I managed to slowly calm down and wiped the tears out of my face. When was the last time had I happy cried like this? I suppose in a war, it’s hard to find time for it. I let out a few last chuckles before I gave a proper response “Good one, Keith.”

Keith smiled ever so brightly at me, had he even stopped smiling since I made him laugh in the training room? Had I stopped? “Thank you.” He gave a curt bow and lightly laughed

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to take my job as the comedian.” 

He snorted back at me “My comment wasn’t that funny.” He rolled his eyes, his smile never leaving his face

I held my tongue lightly between my teeth to keep myself from laughing again “I suppose I laughed for the same reason you laughed so heartily earlier.” I quirked my brow at him, hoping he remembered his own reasoning. Because I missed this. Because _this_ is my home. 

Keith and I stared at each other again, just as we had a few minutes ago in the training room. Both of us having the widest of smiles, both of us refusing to look away, not wanting this little moment to end. It's hard to make moments like this during a war, it feels so refreshing. This time though, Keith opened his mouth and began to speak “Lance, I-”

He was cut off by Pidge who was clearing her throat in an attempt to catch our attention, which clearly worked. We both turned our attention towards her, my smile fading, having completely forgotten we had been called for a meeting and other people were in the room. “I know we have a meeting and all, but if you two lovebirds need a minute, then go get a room.”

I rolled my eyes at her, my smile nearly half gone from my face at this point. “Hmm, funny Pidge.” Couldn’t I just be allowed to be happy? “Come on, we all know I’m out of Keith’s league.” I joked and turned to the mulleted boy in question, but he was already turned to Shiro who was speaking with a large smile, though Keith didn’t seem to be all that into the conversation, seeing as he was doing that awkward hand rub on the back of his neck again. 

Allura cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention as we all now turned to her “Now if we are all done joking around” She looked pointedly at me, and I felt myself shrink back at her stare. 

We were supposed to be having a meeting and here I am cracking jokes and getting in the way again. “Sorry” I managed to mumble out before she quickly began to speak again.

“A distress signal is being pinged off an abandoned base that Zarkon’s army used to use ten years ago.” She stated simply, before hitting a button, and a sound wave message was heard through the room.

“My name is-” The sound cut out for a few seconds “Just landed on an old base a few minutes ago-” It cut out again “Help please-being- attacked! Help somebody ple-” It cut out one last time before the message ended. 

“We’re only half a varga away, so I suggest you all gear up quickly.” Allura clapped her hands together, dismissing us as quickly as we had been gathered.

I headed to my room with speed, getting changed into my suit. My smile was all but gone at this point. Something...felt wrong. If Zarkon's arm abandoned the base, no one who opposes his ways would have willingly gone there. Didn't they say that they just landed though? If we’re so close to it, we would have seen another ship passing by us on our radars, heading in that direction. What trouble could somebody have gotten into in an abandoned war base? Who would already be there ready to attack as soon as they landed? An old prisoner who was left there and escaped? No...Allura said it was abandoned ten years ago, no one could survive there with no real resources for that long. 

It just felt...wrong. I puffed out my cheeks in confusion, what was it that felt wrong? Could it be a trap? Maybe I should tell Allura my concerns, that way she can make sure we’re at least a little bit more cautious while heading in. 

  
After getting changed, I all but ran to where Allura was at the head of the ship. Keith, Shiro, and Coran were already there, meaning we still needed to wait on Pidge and Hunk. “Hey Princess, I wanted to talk to you about-”

Her hand shot up in my face, cutting me off mid-sentence “Not now Lance. I’m a bit busy.” My brows shot up at how harsh her words came out, she didn’t even bother to look up at me, she just typed away at her tablet, Altean words flashed on the screen, but the word Lotor was one I was able to read.

“Yes, I see that, I just wanted to talk about-”

“Lance. Not now, please.”

“But Princess, I think-”

“Lance, for the last time, _not now_.” The stress was evident in her voice and has been evident for a whole week since Lotor all but cut off contact for seemingly no reason last week. I felt for her, but this mission needed to be discussed, something was wrong about it, and we were closing in quickly.

“Allura, I just-”

“Lance! I don’t want to hear whatever flirt you want to use on me next. I _said_ I’m busy.” She shouted out loudly, scoffed at me, grabbed her tablet, and moved away from me, walking straight out of the room.

I stood there for a minute, trying to compute what just happened, Flirt? I haven’t flirted with her in almost three months. She had Lotor now, and that was clear to me. Is that all I am to her? Just some annoying flirt who won’t give her space? Is that how she sees me? I know I used to flirt with her a bit, but I never thought to the extent that she’d get this mad at me. I was always under the impression she found it kind of amusing, even if she didn’t return my feelings…if I had known…

“Hey, buddy…” A soft deep voice sounded off on my right, and a firm but a still soft hand touched my shoulder. I turned to my right to see Hunk looking down at me, his face clearly showing that he saw and heard everything that went down. 

I turned around to the rest of the room to see everybody staring in my direction, awkward and pitying looks on their faces. My face became hot and if my skin were a few shades lighter, I’m sure it would be all but red. “I should uh...step out for a bit…” I cleared my throat, trying to make it not sound so shaky. “I’ll um...go wait with Blue. We’ll be good to go with the rest of you.” I forced myself to smile, they didn’t need to know how badly my confidence had just been shut down. I took a step towards the door, but Hunk’s hand on my shoulder didn’t let go.

“Lance...are you okay?” He asked, his voice was soft and he spoke slowly to me as I was some animal he was afraid of scaring off.

I made myself smile wider at him, the others were still watching, still listening, they can’t know the truth. I rolled my eyes in a joking manner as best as I could and cleared my throat again of any cracks before I spoke. “I’m all good, Buddy. ‘Lura is just stressed, and completely read me wrong by the way” I said the second part slightly louder so that the others knew I wasn’t trying to make any moves on her.

“You weren’t trying to flirt?” Hunk asked, in what seemed like genuine surprise.

I looked back at him in surprise as well and shook his hand off of my shoulder. “ _No,_ ” I said incredulously. “Of course not, she’s clearly been stressed about Lotor.” I told him “I haven’t flirted with Allura in months, Hunk. She’s hurt and scared about Lotor, I can’t believe you’d think I’d tried to make a move on her when she’s clearly not okay. “My voice became louder and louder with every other word. “I just wanted to voice my concern about this mission, because something doesn’t feel right about it." I shook my head, completely confused as to why he thought this. "Geez, I can’t believe you of all people would think I’d try to take advantage of the princess when she’s in such a vulnerable state.”

“No, Lance, that’s not what I- I just meant that I thought-”

My brows were furrowed, fist clenched at my side, and I took a step back “Do you really think so lowly of me?” I spit out, all of my frustrations finally getting the best of me. I turned to the rest of the room, their thoughts had also clearly been that I was making my moves on the princess “All of you really think so low of me?” I scoffed and walked out of the room in a near sprint. I headed straight to Kaltenecker, I needed someone who’d understand, who’d actually listen.

“Lance!” I cursed to myself, as I walked faster, of course, someone was bound to follow me after I all but threw a tantrum. “Lance, slow down, please.” I felt a tug at my arm, and I turned to see Pidge, panting after having to run to catch up to me “Geez man, my legs are way shorter than yours, you gotta slow down next time.”

I scoffed “What do you want Pidge?” I asked, shaking off her hand from my arm. 

Pidge held up a finger telling me to wait, as she finished catching her breath. She mumbled something about how nerds weren’t meant to run, and I rolled my eyes at her in response. “Okay.” She breathed out “You know Hunk meant no harm Lance, he’s too soft to mean harm.”

“Just because he didn’t mean harm, doesn’t mean he’s not capable of harming.” After saying that though, I deflated in my anger and just felt hurt 

“Lance, he really didn’t mean anything by it. Honestly, we all didn’t even realize you stopped flirting with Allura."

“As if that makes anything better? That just hurt even more. Allura is in love with Lotor, I know that. It hurts, but I know and respect that. She has been so stressed out all week. She’s been biting her nails and literally pulling out her hairs because Lotor hasn’t responded to her or reached out in a week. The fact that any of you, even Allura, would think that I’d try and take advantage of a situation like that?” I chuckled harshly, but I clearly didn’t find anything funny. “Is that all I am to you guy? I try to voice my concerns about this stupid mission because it’s not adding up and it feels like a trap, but all of you guy’s think I’m some creep trying to make a move of Allura?” 

“Lance, we didn’t think that-” She cut herself off before she could finish her statement, and stared up at me for a few seconds. Before I could ask what was up, she opened her mouth to speak. “Did you just say you think this mission is a trap?”

“Yes!” I all but shouted out “That’s what I was trying to tell Allura before she yelled at me. Things don’t add up, and it’s got to be a trap or at least something and we need to take precaution like staking out the base properly before just heading in.”

“Why do you think it’s a trap?”

I rolled my eyes, of course, nobody would ever take my word for what it is “They said they just landed on the base, but if that was the truth we would have seen them on our radar flying past us. If they were being chased and then they landed, we _definitely_ would have seen that, and they would have had to send a signal out before landing if they were really being chased. If they landed, again we would have seen them on the radar, but then that means they were being attacked by something on the base. A base that’s been abandoned for ten years, nothing normal could have survived on that base for so long without proper resources. So it’s a trap, or they’re being attacked by some giant monster thing that overpowered them, and in that case, we really should stake out the place beforehand to see what we’re dealing with, but _no_ , Allura is barrelling headfirst into the base without thinking. And now that I think about it the person who sent out the message didn’t give a name, a proper location, or what was attacking them, it always seemed to cut out at the most convenient time. Plus the person who sent the message said 'we', but I didn’t hear anybody else with her, and we should have heard at least faint sounds of something attacking her, but we heard nothing except her steady voice, no background noise." 

Pidge stared at me incredulously. “I-you’re right. Lance, you have to tell Allura-”

“I tried that, remember? Didn’t end all that well” I sighed in defeat “You go tell her Pidge, she’ll respond better to you, hurry too, we’re only a few minutes away and we really shouldn’t show our ship until we’ve properly staked out the place. 

Pidge nodded her head, the clear determination showing on her face, and she ran off without another word. I sighed to myself again, I’ve been doing that a lot lately. How do I get myself into these situations? Why can’t I just stay out of the way of things? That way I’d never have to deal with this stuff. 

_Not now, Lance._ Allura’s voice rang in my head. Why can’t I escape those words? Why do they seem to follow me no matter how much I try to change. 

Just these past two months, I’ve been taking orders without complaint, without even a roll of my eyes. I’ve been training all day and well into the night. I’ve been out of the way and still made myself available whenever the others might need me. Why isn’t that good enough for them?

“Lance, please report back to the head of the castle.” Coran’s voice rang out hitting the walls of a nearly empty hallway. I breathed in and out slowly a few times before I made my way back to the others. 

I walked in and everyone's eyes, except for Allura’s and Hunk’s were on me. I forced on a wide smile “Are we already there?” I asked, doing my best to ignore the stares. “I thought we had at least another ten minutes.’ I frowned exaggeratedly “I was about to put on some cologne just in case one of the people we end up saving is a cutie.” If they think I’m nothing but a flirt, then I’ll just be the role they see me as. 

Allura huffed out loudly. “No, Lance. We’re not there yet.” The other's eyes were off of me now, good. They think I’m just a flirt, you don’t need to worry about a flirt “Pidge has brought some pressing matters to my attention. This rescue mission might….” She then proceeded to explain everything I explained to Pidge. 

I wonder if Pidge had any trouble taking to Allura. Probably not, considering it took less than five minutes from when Pidge ran off to tell Allura to now. Which means, it is just me. I’m really just that annoying to Allura. I really need to learn how to give her space I’m not giving her enough of it. How do I make it up to her…

After ten minutes of staking out the abandoned base, we quickly found a fleet of Zarkon’s army waiting for us to enter their view. They would have so easily overpowered us if we had barreled in like we originally planned to. Instead, we got into our respected lions (except for Coran and Keith who stayed in the castle out of view) and attacked from behind. 

It took twenty minutes, and Zarkon’s forces, or Zarkon’s general, Raht’s forces, were defeated. There were a few ships that fled when they realized this would not be a battle they would be winning, but all in all, we took down forty ships. Plus Pidge got some new tech to play with, so really it was a huge success. 

We made it back to the castle, energy high from the quick victory. We met back at the head of the castle with Keith and Coran who shared in our victory. Drinks were being poured, though I’m sure Allura, Coran, and Shiro were not drinking what the rest of us were. 

“A toast” Allura proclaimed, raising her glass upwards “to Pidge” She tilted her glass towards the girl. “If it wasn’t for her figuring out this rescue mission was actually a trap, we would have been in a galaxy of trouble.” I bit my tongue.

Pidge quickly turned to me and I shook my head at her, smiling, trying to tell her not to say anything. “To Pidge!” I shouted out, raising my glass upwards, and everyone else followed suit. 

Hunk patted her back, Shiro ruffled her hair, even Keith gave her a nod of approval. I laughed at all the attention she was getting, she was smiling widely and flustered. Her smile dropped though, and she stared at me, brows furrowed. “Actually, everybody-”

My smile dropped “Pidge, don’t. I don’t want-” I tried to whisper to her, but the others noticed my panicked face.

“What's going on you two?” Shiro asked.

“I wasn’t-” Pidge started, but I promptly cut her off.

“Pidge. Can I please have a word, please? “

Everybody quickly became invested, something clearly was happening in front of them, an argument was forming. “Not now, Lance,” She said, and the words of course stung like they always do “Why don’t you want-”

“Pidge, just leave it.”

We stared each other down, and everybody else stared between the two of us, completely out of the loop, but still interested in what was happening. 

“What-?” Keith’s voice started 

Pidge blew out a puff of air.“Fine then," She threw up her hands dramatically in the air, rolling her eyes at me while she was at it.

Everybody looked disappointed that she gave in, but my body visibly relaxed “Thank you. I appreciate it, really.” I smiled softly at her, took a deep breath, and leaned my head back on the head of my seat, sighing in relief. I really didn't want to cause any more of a commotion. 

“Lance was the one who realized it was a trap, not me!” She shouted quickly out before I could even open my eyes again. 

“Pidge, I told you-”

“I don’t give a rat's ass what you told me.” She scoffed at me “Why the hell don’t you want the credit. We should be celebrating you, not me. You should be having all this attention, not me.”

I rolled my eyes at her, why can’t she just accept the win and leave it at that? “It doesn’t matter who figured it out Pidge" _I don’t want the attention._

She all but growled out at me “If it doesn’t matter who figured it out, then why don’t you want people to know it was you?” I stared down at her, and she, me. I refused to answer her question

Allura coughed, catching our attention “What I don’t understand...is if Lance figured out it was a trap, then why didn’t he tell me?” She asked, and I flinched involuntarily “Why would you waste time telling Pidge instead of coming straight to me?” Her attention was fully on me, her brows furrowed, the beginnings of anger starting to show on her face. “When it comes to war Lance, you can’t just dilly dally around. You need to come straight towards me when it comes to important matters like this.”

I bit down on the inside of my cheek so hard I could taste blood on my tongue. I can’t cause a scene, not again. “I apologize Princess. I should have known better and come straight to you. Next time, I-”

A small, quick hand, clamped down on my mouth “ _Stop it,_ Lance. _Stop_ apologizing when you haven’t done anything wrong” Pidge glared at me and then turned her attention towards Allura. “He did come to you Allura.” She practically spits out “So don’t you dare get mad at him for not coming to you. He tried to talk to you several times, but you just kept shutting him down. You _yelled_ at him to get out of your face in front of everyone and stormed out of the room, remember?”

Allura stared between the two of us, a mixture of confusion, surprise, and embarrassment shone on her face. “I-I didn’t-”

“But you _did_.” Pidge stated simply, “We all saw it.” She waved her hand to the rest of the team who were awkwardly watching everything go down.

The face Allura was making hurt to see. It was what I felt when she yelled at me, it was a _horrible_ feeling. I swallowed down, closed my eyes, and forced Pidge's hand away from my face. “That’s enough Pidge,” I stated as calmly as I could and stood from my seat. Suddenly all eyes were on me. I used to _love_ when all eyes were on me, but now...now it just made my skin crawl and made me want to hide away in some cupboard. 

“Lance, you need to stand up for yourself and-”

I sighed for the hundredth time today “No Pidge, I don’t need to do anything.” I looked at her, tired from everything that’s gone down today. “Calling out Allura like this in front of everybody isn’t going to accomplish anything other than make her feel bad. Thank you for trying to stand up for me though, it does mean a lot to me” I smiled half-heartedly at her before turning my attention to Allura “I’m sorry Princess, I never meant to cause another scene, please forgive me.” I lowered my head when I spoke, I didn't trust myself to look her in the eye without crying out in frustration. 

Allura’s vision furrowed in understandable confusion “It’s...okay.” 

I nodded my head, turned around to the others, and singled out Hunk “I’m sorry for raising my voice at you earlier, buddy. I know you didn’t mean any harm when you were speaking to me.” Even if it did still hurt. 

“It’s...okay?” Hunk’s statement sounded much more like a question, but I chose to ignore it and move on. 

“Great,” I clapped my hands together loudly and forced a smile to the six already confused faces. “Now that that’s done, I’m exhausted. So I’ll be heading to bed early, so if you will…” I bowed my head to them, smiling as wide as I could so they knew that I was okay. I turned away from the group and made my way to the door. 

“It’s only six pm” Shiro’s voice shouted out. 

I turned to him, still smiling, and shrugged my shoulders “I’ve been training all morning and well into the afternoon, and then almost immediately after, we fought a whole fleet of Zarkon’s army. Trust me when I say, I’m exhausted.” I chuckled, Dios Mio I really am exhausted. “Plus,” I decided to add so they knew I was okay “We’re only a day away from Keplotisko. I gotta make sure I get my beauty sleep just in case I see any cute alien babes, right?” I laughed awkwardly and walked out of the room. That was good, right? They see me as a flirt, so if I talk about flirting, they’ll think I’m all good. 

I made my way to my room and as soon as I was in, I flung myself onto my bed. Hay demonios, I think I can sleep and not wake up for the next week. Though I think that would technically be a coma. I was too tired to even get up and change into some pajamas.

Despite how tired I was though, I tossed and turned for an hour straight in bed, my thoughts running rampant in my mind for me to get any sleep. I huffed out in frustration, I gave up. I’ll make it so my body doesn’t have a choice to fall asleep. I got up from my bed, grabbed my bayard, and headed straight toward the training room.

When I walked in though, Keith was already there. Huh, with everything that happened, I actually forgot he had come back today. 

“Lance.” He looked up from the simulation “End simulation number 23” He said and made his way towards me “I thought you went to bed?” He smiled softly at me, probably because he thought I was upset from earlier, which admittedly, I still was. 

I huffed, I think Keith is the only person so far not to hurt me this week. Then again this was his first day back, there’s still time. “I did go to bed,” I told him “It didn’t work, so I thought I’d exhaust myself here.”

Keith laughed “I don’t think that’s uh...healthy.”

I laughed along with him. “Says the guy who spends all his free time in the training room, eh?”

“Touche,” Keith nodded, laughing shortly at my comment. 

I looked between him and the simulation he had just ended and frowned “If you’re busy in here though, I can go exhaust myself somewhere else. I took a step back toward the door.

Keith scoffed “Oh please, this training room is more than big enough for the both of us Lance” I turned to see him smiling up at me.

“Are you sure?” I asked, “I don’t wanna get in your way or anything.”

Keith’s smile turned into a frown. “Why would you think you’d be in the way?” He shook his head as if he were changing his mind about something “Oh wait a minute, don’t tell me you’re scared of being shown up on your sword skills?” He chuckled, and the look in his eyes was one of a clear challenge.

“Oh ho ho, big talk from someone holding such a small sword”

“Mmm, I still think your sword size is compensating for something” He smirked, and the light was hitting his eyes in such a way they made him look as if he had more smack talk up his sleeve. 

My laughter bubbled out “Okay, mullet man.” I shot back.

He gasped in offense “It is _not_ a mullet.” He gave me a soft glare, one that meant business, but still didn’t hold a heavy meaning “That’s it, McClain. No more smack talk, show me whatcha got.” He swung his sword from side to side and made a come at me motion with his left hand

I pulled my bayard from my side, and as soon as I grasped it, it turned into a sword. “You’re on, Kogane” I made my way toward him. 

We circled each other for a minute, waiting for the other to make the first move “Come on, you’re not too scared to make a move, are you? Or should you just stick to being Mr. Sharpshooter?”

I scoffed at him “Big talk, Mr. Dropout”

Keith rolled his eyes at me, but his smile stayed “Garrison days are so far behind us, Lance. Or should I say Mr. We were rivals?”

I snorted “Mr. We had a bonding moment!”

“OHhohoho, that’s a low blow, Lance.” He bubbled out.

“Are you two gonna keep flirting or just fight already?” A voice called out from the front of the room.

Keith and I both jumped, not having known anybody had entered the room. We look up to see Shiro standing there, arms crossed, with an amused smile. 

“Shiro….” Keith groaned out, cheeks tinted pink, seemingly embarrassed from having jumped so high when Shiro scared us.

“You heard him Hot Topic, attack me already!” 

Keith turned his attention back to me, rolling his eyes as he made the first move “That one's new, but I don’t think I’ve actually ever shopped there.”


End file.
